> Anyone can get a domain name for $5 and run a server for less.
No they can't. They don't know how, in part because nobody teaches them.
No they can't. They don't have enough upload bandwidth for even a modest web server. Our links are asymmetric, remember?
No they can't. Residential IP addresses are blacklisted by most mail services. What good is a mail server that can't get its mail accepted?
No they can't. Many ISPs forbid their users to run a server —by contract.
No they can't. In many regions, most people are put behind a big NAT. They don't even have an internet connection (which by any reasonable definition requires a public IP).
Even I can't run my own server, even though I'm technically qualified. Instead, I loan some processor time from a provider I like to run a VM on their servers.
"They don't know how, in part because nobody teaches them."
Or they don't have software that does it for them.
"They don't have enough upload bandwidth for even a modest web server. Our links are asymmetric, remember?"
Last I checked, BitTorrent was still a thing. IOW, build a killer app and that will change.
"Residential IP addresses are blacklisted by most mail services. What good is a mail server that can't get its mail accepted?"
Then you can't run a mail server unless you have a cloud server that isn't blacklisted.
"Many ISPs forbid their users to run a server —by contract."
Which is a gray area that will fall apart the moment a killer app exists. ISPs don't block Twitch, they don't block Skype (which is P2P), they don't block BitTorrent, they don't block my NEST thermostat.
"In many regions, most people are put behind a big NAT. They don't even have an internet connection (which by any reasonable definition requires a public IP)."
This is barbaric and not my experience in North America.
"Even I can't run my own server, even though I'm technically qualified. Instead, I loan some processor time from a provider I like to run a VM on their servers."
Sure, that's a common workaround and I don't really consider that "centralized" computing in the manner of a Facebook or Twitter.
My point is that everyone having a server for decentralized internet doesn't have insurmountable barriers, it requires software that people want to consume that will change the way the market works. Uber is doing it for a way more regulated industry (taxis).
No they can't. They don't know how, in part because nobody teaches them.
No they can't. They don't have enough upload bandwidth for even a modest web server. Our links are asymmetric, remember?
No they can't. Residential IP addresses are blacklisted by most mail services. What good is a mail server that can't get its mail accepted?
No they can't. Many ISPs forbid their users to run a server —by contract.
No they can't. In many regions, most people are put behind a big NAT. They don't even have an internet connection (which by any reasonable definition requires a public IP).
Even I can't run my own server, even though I'm technically qualified. Instead, I loan some processor time from a provider I like to run a VM on their servers.